Mo Nunn Racing teammates Tony Kanaan and
Alex Zanardi wrapped up their final two-day test at Sebring International Raceway this afternoon, then headed south to Homestead
Miami Speedway to conclude their preparation for the 2001 CART FedEx
Championship Series season on Wednesday and Thursday.

Together, Kanaan and two-time series champion Zanardi combined for more
than 450 miles over the two days on the Sebring road course with Kanaan
logging the lionís share (some 325 miles) in his #55 Hollywood/Mo Nunn
Racing Honda-Reynard. Zanardi and his #66 Pioneer-WorldCom/Mo Nunn Racing Honda-Reynard achieved comparable lap times Ė among the fastest
clocked by anyone this winter at Sebring Ė but was hampered by what team
owner Morris Nunn referred to as a series of new-car teething problems.

The focus now turns to Homestead, where the second-year team looks to
spend the next two days fine-tuning its pit stop performance and simulating various race situations. It will be the ninth and 10th days
of testing for both drivers this offseason.

The 21-race season begins March 11 at a brand new road course in
Monterrey, Mexico.

MORRIS NUNN

ďWeíre very happy with the testing weíve done. Everybody on the team
seems to be running on all cylinders. Tony has been very impressive all
winter, and had another very productive two days at Sebring. Alex, on
the other hand, had to endure a little frustration with some of what we
could call new-car problems ... typical stuff ... these last two days.
We finished up today putting Alex in Tonyís car just to try a few things, and he ran quite well. Thatís a good thing because we have two
drivers who seem to like the same setup. That makes life easier for
everybody, and itíll help us progress that much faster. These next two
days, weíll get a little bit of track testing in, but thereís only so
much youíre going to be able to accomplish from this point forward. You
always have to run competitive lap times, but we also know that having
the fastest car at the first race isnít necessarily as important as
having the whole team working like clockwork in all situations. Itís
not necessarily the fastest car that wins the first race, or first few
races, but the one that makes the fewest mistakes on the track and in
the pits. You only get one point for the pole, but you get 20 points
for the race win, and thatís what weíre focusing on. You can always do
more to look for speed in the car, but time is limited. We just grew to
a two-car team and itís important to be flawless in the pits. You might
be able to find tenths of second in speed on the track, but you can throw it all out the window with bad pit stops.Ē

TONY KANAAN
ďI think it was a great two days. Itís a good feeling to leave the test
track having recorded some good lap times. But we donít race at Sebring, so Iím going to hold back on my excitement. It all doesnít
happen for real until Mexico. In the meantime, weíre gathering a lot of
information, so our engineers can work hard to figure out where we want
to go from here. I like my setup. Itís unfortunate Alexís car had some
minor problems that cost him time on the track, but overall I think we
gained a lot as a team. Thatís the luxury of having a two-car team,
especially when both of us seem to like the same things in terms of setup. Last year, I was all by myself, so if I would have had any
problems, itís a real setback. Now, Iím looking forward to working with
my guys on pit stops. The work never ends. More of us in the field
have similar equipment, so itís going to be very competitive. Pit stops
are going to be more important than ever. Weíll work hard these next
two days, and then by race weekend we can concentrate on building a good
car and really go for it. It feels good to leave the track on a high
note, but in this business youíre really only as good as your next day
on the track!Ē

ALEX ZANARDI
ďAs a team, we were able to make some very good progress once again.
But, personally for me, it was a little frustrating. I got significant
time in the car today, but it was one little thing after another that
kept disrupting things. Hey, in the business, everyone has good days
and not-so-good days. The key is to limit your not-so-good days to private testing and be at your best on race weekends. Tony did great,
and I was able to get in his car and run well. The real frustrating
part is that a year ago I was changing diapers, and this winter every
day of testing is important for me. Not to worry, though. We have two
more days at Homestead. Iím looking forward to making some adjustments
on my car, and running some good laps so we can all go to Monterrey in a
good mood. Itís important to start the season on the right foot.Ē

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